Collective Advocacy

“Collective Advocacy enables a peer group of people, as well as a wider community with shared interests, to represent their views, preferences and experiences”. – Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance, 2014

Collective advocacy is where a group of people who are all facing a common problem and have had similar experiences get together to work on specific issues and have their voices heard. The group as a whole may campaign on an issue that affects them. A collective voice can be stronger than that of an individual, as groups are more difficult to ignore. Being part of a collective advocacy group can help to reduce people’s sense of isolation when raising a difficult issue.

Advocacy groups don’t just wait to be asked what they think about what is happening, they decide what’s important for them and can work together to change things.

The Importance of Advocacy:

“An Individual patient has very little power but when people act together there is nothing more powerful” – Jim Kiddie

“The mental health services in Lothian would be a pale shadow of what they are now if it hadn’t been for the [collective advocacy] movement” – John Bonnar

“I think it’s been the best thing since sliced bread. At least we get our voice in places where we were more or less told to sit down and be quiet” – Kenny